NLRB Decision in Glen Falls Building & Construction Trades Council

By: Diana E. Leech, Esquire del@muslaw.com

On July 31, 2007, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its opinion in Glen Falls Building & Construction Trades Council. In this case, the NLRB held that an agreement between an owner and labor unions requiring all contractors employed on a construction site to sign a project labor agreement (“PLA”) violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) because the agreement was neither negotiated in the context of collective bargaining nor was the agreement entered into for the purpose of alleviating problems associated with having both union and non-union employees on the same construction site. The NLRB held that the agreement requiring contractors to execute the PLAs was entered into by the owner in order to gain union support in obtaining the necessary project permits. Accordingly, the NLRB ruled for the owner holding that the agreement was illegal and void under the NLRA, thus invalidating any basis for a claim.